Prepared Remarks of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales
on Efforts to Combat Gang Violence in Rochester, New York

Rochester, New YorkApril 26, 2007

Good morning.

First let me thank everyone at Pathways to Peace for sharing their facility with
us today. I am joined by U.S. Attorney Terrance Flynn.

We know that some cities, like Rochester, are dealing with significant increases
in violent crimes, fueled in part by loosely knit “street gangs.”

These “crews,” as they are sometimes called, are as varied as the communities
in which they are found. That’s why local investigators, prosecutors and
community leaders are in the best position to come up with solutions to combat
the violence these gangs perpetrate.

Federal efforts are, of course, already organized against larger, national
gangs, but the Department of Justice can also assist state and local
authorities.

Last February, I announced an expansion of the Justice Department’s Project Safe
Neighborhoods program to include new and enhanced anti-gang efforts. It had
become clear to me that removing the scourge of gangs and gang violence from
America’s neighborhoods would require an integrated, comprehensive approach
that utilizes partnerships with both law enforcement and community-service
groups like Pathways to Peace.

Last year, in addition to the funds made available through Project Safe
Neighborhoods, we gave targeted assistance to six sites through the
Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative. Today I am pleased to announce four new
sites for this partnership-oriented initiative.

Rochester is the first site I am visiting. The other three will be:
Indianapolis, Indiana; Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina; and Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. Each area will receive $2.5 million in grants to implement a
comprehensive anti-gang strategy.

While enforcing the law in this area is important, keeping kids out of gangs in
the first place is the goal of all goals. That’s why this program brings
together three essential strategies in the fight against gangs: prevention,
prosecution, and prisoner re-entry.

We believe that, when a child has chosen the Boys and Girls Club instead of gang
life…

When a prisoner re-enters society with faith in a higher power instead of in
the power of illegal guns…

And when kids are playing baseball in the Police Athletic Leagues instead of
doing drugs, our jobs in law enforcement get easier and America’s neighborhoods
become better places to live.

Here in Rochester, resources will be targeted toward reducing gang violence in
the “Crescent,” where over 90 percent of all of Rochester’s documented gang
activity occurs.

I look forward to visiting the other three sites to see, first-hand, the
innovative solutions each community puts in place as we launch this initiative.
Each of the four locations demonstrated a need for concentrated anti-gang
resources, possessed the infrastructure to support all three components of the
strategy, and has maintained an existing community partnership or network that
will support this new initiative.

In each area, this program will be coordinated by the United States Attorney,
who will work with State, local and community partners to implement all three
pieces of this comprehensive anti-gang strategy.

The first is prevention. To have enduring success against gangs, we must address
the personal, family, and community factors that cause young people to choose
gangs over better, more productive alternatives. The more success we have in
this area, the fewer people we'll have to prosecute for violent activity down
the road. One million dollars in grants per site will be devoted to prevention
work.

The second part of the program will provide $1 million in grants to help law
enforcement agencies investigate and prosecute gang members who terrorize our
communities. The goal will be to focus on and lock up the most significant
violent offenders.

Finally, we want to ensure that offenders returning to society don't choose
violence again. This initiative will support re-entry assistance through
faith-based and community providers that includes everything from transitional
housing and job placement, to substance abuse and mental health treatment. Five
hundred thousand dollars per site will be available for these types of programs.

America is the greatest country in the world. No matter the circumstances of
your birth, you can achieve great things when you work hard and make good
choices.

There is no future in being a member of a gang.

I believe the efforts being announced today will help protect our neighborhoods
and offer a lot of kids an alternative to gang life. Ultimately, all of this
will help ensure that the American dream is a real possibility for more
Americans.